COSTA MESA — Deep down, Joey Bosa knew he wasn’t ready to return. The bone bruise in his foot still ached with each step. It needed rest. But the Chargers’ season opener was fast approaching, and he needed to be back in time. If he could just get through one week of practice, Bosa figured, maybe his foot would be fine. Maybe he could play through the pain.

That was nearly a month ago. On Wednesday, ahead of this week’s game against the 49ers, the Chargers Pro Bowl defensive end spoke to the media for the first time since re-aggravating his foot injury during that ill-fated attempt to return. After missing the first three weeks of the season, Bosa now says he won’t return until “around the bye week or after the bye week”.

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The Chargers’ bye week falls during Week 8, the final weekend of October, meaning Bosa will miss at least the next four games. Surgery has still not been ruled out for his injured foot, which was removed from a cast this week. Bosa also admitted there is “a little instability in the tendon.”

But Bosa and that foot specialist he’s seeing are optimistic that a surgical procedure, which could potentially end his season, will be unnecessary.

“It’s going to be a few more weeks, and once that time comes, it’s really going to be a day at a time,” Bosa said. “Right now, we’re really trying to prevent surgery, which is looking good, as long as I take my time and do everything right. Which is what I’m trying to do right now.”

Staying patient, though, is a constant struggle. In losses to the Chiefs and Rams, Bosa’s absence loomed especially large, as the Chargers failed to create much pressure at all on the quarterback. Melvin Ingram, who rushes opposite Bosa, was barely a factor in those defeats as he dealt with constant double teams.

“When I know I could have a great impact and help the game,” Bosa said, “it’s tough to watch.”

Bosa blamed himself. His parents told him to stay positive, but for a little while, he couldn’t help but wallow. In the locker room, before the Chargers’ debut against the Chiefs, that wave of self-pity hit him especially hard.

“It was kind of like, ‘Why me?’” Bosa said. “I could’ve prevented this, if I wasn’t so set on pushing back. But you live and you learn. I’ve tried to turn that grieving into a learning experience.”

His first lesson? Not to return before his foot is fully healthy. So Bosa won’t be rushing the recovery process this time around — that much was made clear on Wednesday. He understands how desperately he’s needed. But he also knows that another re-aggravation would probably end his season.

So, instead, he’ll stick strictly to the schedule given to him by his foot specialist. Soon, the boot he’s still wearing will come off. In a few weeks, if his recovery is on schedule, he’ll begin running. And from there, Bosa, who had 12.5 sacks a year ago, could rejoin the team, at the earliest, for the last few days of October.

Until then, the Chargers star pass rusher is trying to stay positive. He knows it’s better to wait another month than to not play at all this season. In fact, Bosa said he believes it was “a blessing” that he re-aggravated his foot injury when he did — before Week 1, when it could’ve been much worse.

“If I would’ve went out on gameday,” Bosa said, “I would’ve destroyed my foot, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. Everything happens for a reason, maybe or maybe not.”

What happens from here with Bosa’s injury is still up in the air. But as the Chargers defensive end wrapped up his interview on Wednesday, he spoke directly to the team’s fans. He wanted to be clear about his eventual return from injury.

“To anybody out there that’s upset that I’m not out there, trust me, I wish I was,” Bosa said. “But if you wanted me to be out for the rest of the season, I can go play next week. If you want me to play this season, just let me do what I have to do.”

INJURY NOTES

Right tackle Joe Barksdale (knee) has been ruled out for this week’s game against the 49ers. … Top wideout Keenan Allen did not practice on Wednesday, due to an apparent knee injury. When asked about Allen’s status on Monday, Chargers coach Anthony Lynn said that “as far as I know, he was fine.” … Wideout Travis Benjamin, who missed last week’s game with a foot injury, was limited in practice.

Ryan Kartje is a sports features reporter, with a special focus on the NFL and college sports. He has worked for the Orange County Register since 2012, when he was hired as UCLA beat writer. His enterprise work on the rise and fall of the daily fantasy sports industry (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/industry-689093-fantasy-daily.html) was honored in 2015 with an Associated Press Sports Editors’ enterprise award in the highest circulation category. His writing has also been honored by the Football Writers Association of America and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Ryan worked for the Bloomington (Ind.) Herald-Times and Fox Sports Wisconsin, before moving out west to live by the beach and eat copious amounts of burritos.